Parents find out their son died buried under rubble of destroyed building after Russian missile attack. He was among 21 recovered bodies [updated]

The number of fatalities from Russia's 17 June massive attack on Kyiv has climbed to 26 people, with rescue teams continuing to recover bodies from the debris of a destroyed residential building.

Search and rescue operations have been ongoing since the early morning hours on 18 June at a nine-story apartment complex in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district struck by a Russian ballistic missile, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.

Rescue crews worked through the night to extract victims from the rubble. The casualty count increased throughout the day as emergency workers made additional recoveries, with the latest update on death toll being 19 people killed in one single building. Five more civilians died on other sites affected by the Russian attack.

[update] As of 1 p.m. on 18 June, the State Emergency Service reported that the number of killed people retrieved from the destroyed building in Solomianskyi district has risen to 21, moving the total death toll up to 26 people.

Among the victims was a 31-year-old man whose parents had waited all day at the strike site hoping for his rescue. He did not survive.

Dmytro Isaenko was a first-year master's student at Drahomanov University's Faculty of Physical Education, Sports and Health, who was studying physical culture and sport with a focus on human health and physical recreation.

"This is the young man whose fate the whole country was following. The one whose parents stood by the ruins of the destroyed house and waited for their son, prayed and did not leave," the university wrote on its Facebook page. "We all prayed with them. Their photos flew around the world, became a symbol of pain and hope. But no miracle happened."

According to his social media posts, he enjoyed hiking in the mountains and had tried his hand at stand-up comedy.

The missile strike caused extensive damage to the residential structure, with the projectile penetrating deep enough to break through concrete floors into the basement level. The building housed multiple families across its nine floors.

Beyond the fatalities, the State Emergency Service documented 134 people injured across the capital. Rescue operations remain active in Kyiv as teams continue searching for potential survivors and victims in the damaged structures.

In response to the devastation, Kyiv authorities declared a day of mourning on 18 June, with flags lowered, entertainment events canceled, and the city honoring the victims.

US Embassy in Kyiv announced its participation in the city's day of mourning for the 26 people killed in Kyiv, including one American citizen. The Embassy also characterized the 17 June Russian strike as contradicting President Trump's calls to end the war and stop the killing.

The attack on Kyiv was part of a broader Russian assault on Ukraine that also targeted Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, and Mykolaiv oblasts. On the night of 16-17 June, Russian forces launched a total of 440 drones and 32 missiles, including cruise and ballistic types.

In Odesa, the assault killed a 60-year-old woman and injured 17 people, including a pregnant woman and a 17-year-old girl, while also damaging civilian infrastructure including residential buildings, a preschool facility, and garages.